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| KTRK 13 Eyewitness News photographer Bob Dows discusses Marvin Zindler's legacy at Rice University in Houston. (April 2011) |
UPDATE 12/11/2013
Bob Dows Funeral: Friday, 11:00 am @ Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
Late Monday night I started seeing reports on Facebook that KTRK abc13 photographer Bob Dows had passed away. Dows was an incredibly nice and generous man to work with.
Dows was most notably the photographer putting Marvin Zindler on TV every night along with producer Lori Reingold in the Action 13 unit.
"I've had friends throughout my life, but I learned how loyal a real friend can be," Dows said in a panel discussion on Zindler's life in 2011. "Marvin, I think, worked very hard, very long and I think he worked very hard and very long to keep the team together. Because it meant a lot to him and it meant a lot to us."
I don't know specifics at this point, but I'm pretty sure Dows was at KTRK 30 plus years. He graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
KTRK abc13 reporter Deborah Wrigley wrote the following on her station Facebook page about Dows:
You may not have known his name but for years, you saw his work. Bob Dows was Marvin Zindler's photographer, which was a job that required much patience and good humor. Bob had both in abundance. Tonight, after a long illness Bob passed away. He leaves behind a family of devoted friends he made through and at Channel 13 who will miss his smiles and friendship and his good soul.
UPDATE
Wayne Dolcefino talks about Bob Dows.
"Bob was a great guy," Dolcefino told mikemcguff.com. "Always very supportive of me and he must have been a saint to put up with Marvin for all those years."
Shara Fryer blogs more about Dows.
Bob was the quintessential gentleman, with a gentle spirit, a big heart and an intelligence and wit that de-stressed our work, not easy in the juggernaut wake of the Z-man.
Ted Oberg posts about Dows on Facebook:
Few people at ABC13 told stories like Bobby Dows. Bob was Marvin Zindler's longtime photographer, travelling partner and likely apologist for all those times when Marvin got a little ornery. Bob died last night and one of his photography colleagues joked this morning that after years of working side by side with Marvin, God allowed Bobby to step into St. Peter's HOV lane. Bobby deserved a break. Marvin likely met his old friend with a tongue lashing for taking so long to get there.
I've missed Bob in the months he was sick. He was a Louisiana native who told great stories about the business. He once shot film of a Fats Domino concert only to have his news car break down. Bobby was sitting in back of the club trying to get it going after the show and tells the story that Fats took off all his rings one by one, got under the hood and sparked it up. He told countless stories of running around the world with Marvin. It meant something to Bobby to be able use television to help people who needed it most. From the minute I met him, I could tell Bobby loved it. And I loved him for it. I already miss him.
RELATED
Here are video clips of Dows with former Eyewitness News KTRK 13 anchor Shara Fryer, former KTRK 13 weatherman Ed Brandon, Zindler’s former Action 13 producer Lori Reingold and Dr. Joseph Agris of the Agris-Zindler Children’s Fund discussing Marvin Zindler's legacy at Rice University in Houston April 13, 2011.
- Could there be another KTRK 13 Eyewitness News Marvin Zindler on TV news?
- What KTRK 13 staffers learned from Eyewitness News Action 13's Marvin Zindler
- What was the appeal of Marvin Zindler of KTRK 13 Eyewitness News?
- Former KTRK 13 staffers talk Marvin Zindler's legacy (PHOTOS)
- Remembering Houston's Marvin Zindler
